Find Your Focal Point!

What’s your focal point? A fireplace? A bay window? The TV?

A focal point is a design element that catches your attention immediately. Usually it is either a natural feature such as a fireplace, or one you’ve created, typically a large piece of furniture. It doesn’t really matter what that focal point is, whether it be an antique dresser or your flat screen TV – you just want to draw the eye to an item in the room that you would like to showcase. It’s an important element of style because by choosing an eye-catching focus you can set the tone, space and arrangement of the rest of your furniture.

Typical focal points are: fireplace, TV, large window, dresser, sofa, or a large work of art.

Why does a focal spot matter? The eyes like to be drawn to a particular spot with everything else complimenting your focus. For examples just look below at before and after:

Before:

Ignoring the lamp shade, notice how your eyes never settle due to competing or lack of focal spots.

After:

This on the other hand is aesthetically pleasing – everything compliments or enhances the room’s focal point, in this case, the fireplace.

Make your furniture arrangement aesthetically pleasing by picking a focal point and following these top tips:

When creating a focal point, place the Focal Point Item against a wall. This will most likely be the dominant wall, the wall you notice first when you enter the room. If you wish this wall can be painted an accent colour that is different from the other walls.

Play up and decorate the focal point. Mantels especially provide a great opportunity to create a wonderful presentation.

Mix furnishings of various sizes. Every object has a height, depth and width. To add visual interest to any space make sure all your furniture isn’t the same length horizontally or vertically by incorporating a variety of furniture with different characteristics.

If you are using a low piece of furniture as a focal point, you should dress up the area above it to make an impact. Use a large picture, mirror, and accessories to scale.

Leave some space around the focal point so the elements can “breathe”. Think ‘loud and clear’ not ‘noisy and messy’. Doing so makes it easy on the eye and creates a less chaotic atmosphere.

If you want some inspiration then check out our Pinterest board which has everything from wallpaper to DIY tips and tricks!

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